Monday, August 22, 2016

If you were around last year, you probably voted your fingers off for your favorite comedy, drama, and special category nominees (including our first ever OTP of the Year!). This year, with the help of our amazing and large staff, we have a whopping 69 different television shows that are nominated on the ballot! #MoreDiverseThanTheEmmys

But if you weren’t around the website last year or can’t remember what you did last week, let alone last year, you're probably wondering exactly what these are, what this whole #Top3 business is, and why they’re titled the way that they are.

To give you a bit of context, I’ll reiterate what Chelsea said about the Twitter game (see: craze) she inadvertently created a few years ago:

So in July 2013, I started this little thing called #Top3 on my Twitter and personal blog as a small scheme to figure out somebody's favorite movie. It quickly escalated into a five day a week competition game with winners and wonderful bragging rights. I'd give people a random Film or TV category and they would respond with their #Top3 choices for the category. (Here's an example of one such week.) No more, no less, and you had to have #RUTHLESSNESS when making your picks. There were three winners because some things just do not compare.

My Top 3 films (To Kill a Mockingbird, Beauty and the Beast, Lost in Translation), for instance, have nothing in common writing, editing, or directing wise other than the fact that they are films. Honoring multiple pieces shows just how rich we are in quality content. I did this game for about six months before I grew tired of it, but at least once a week since the game ended I've had at least one person ask if I would ever bring it back.

It was a fun way to talk about pop culture and get people interested in things they may not have seen. So I brought the idea of bringing back the game to Jenn [...] and we brainstormed a way to bring it back in a more self-contained format.

[...] #Top3 for me was always about showcasing as much great content as possible with all the winners.

I owe Jenn and the entire Just About Write team a big thank you for helping me with this elaborate scheme and making me love the idea of #Top3 again. You ladies (and gents) are amazing and I am proud to be working with you.

Back to you, Jenn!

When Chels approached last year me with the idea to combine #Top3 and an awards ceremony, I immediately was intrigued. The more we talked, the more I realized that this would be a fun opportunity to bring fandoms together and celebrate people and shows that aren’t always nominated for awards like Golden Globes or Emmys. This year, I’m so blessed to have an incredibly diverse and incredible staff who care so much about the shows they watch and the people who act in them.

The writers helped nominate people, shows, and ships in each category anonymously, then Chels and I compiled the ballots that you’ll see here.

We're so excited to be doing this again, and feel incredibly excited that you all are willing to take this journey with us. Below, you’ll find separate posts for each nomination ballot this year:

Comedy and Drama are pretty self-explanatory, but our Special Category ballots contain an awesome array of fandom-focused categories, just like last year!

Unfortunately, unlike last year which utilized Tumblr for OTP of the Year, we won’t be using that platform again for voting purposes. It created quite a cheating conundrum among fandoms which forced us to disqualify some of our contenders, so we are avoiding it as a voting platform altogether. We’ll try to be as fair as possible with the voting this time around. So please, don’t cheat on the polls. We get nothing out of it, and your winners don’t really either.

The nominations open today and will be closed by 8 AM EST on Monday, August 29th. By the first weekend in September, I’ll round up the top 3 people/shows with the most votes in each category and those will be your 2016 Just About Write Golden Trio winners! (Gold will be awarded to the most votes, silver to the next, and bronze to the third highest.)

We’re so excited to be doing these awards again, and I feel even better about this year’s ballots than I did last year’s. Thank you for the endless support that you’ve given each writer on staff as we’ve endeavored to bring you great writing and great content.

So share your nominees on social media using #GoldenTrioAwards, tag your favorite celebrities and shows that are nominated, and get people voting for your favorites! But most important of all? HAVE FUN.